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7
GENERAL RESULTS OF MEDICAL INSPECTION.
DIRT AND VERMIN.
Not unexpectedly one of the first results of medical inspection
was to brings into prominence the prevalence of dirty and
verminous conditions among the children.
A few of the public elementary schools in Willesden would
probably rank among the cleanest and freest from vermin of any
such schools in the kingdom, and, take them altogether, they
are certainly not worse in this respect than the general run of
schools administered by Local Education Authorities.
Having said this, it remains to say that the condition of the
heads and persons of children attending your public elementary
schools as ascertained by medical inspection was deplorable.
It was found that the girls were verminous to a much larger
extent than the boys, and, taking the results for all the schools
throughout the district, no fewer than 27 per cent, of all the girls
examined were found to be harbouring vermin.
The earlier examinations showed results much worse than
this, for, owing to the publicity given to the disgraceful conditions
discovered, and to the efforts made to secure improvement,
great amelioration of the condition was effected before the end
of the year reported on.
At one of the schools, the Assistant School Medical Officer,
Dr. Granger Evans, examined the head of every child in the
school, and as a result it was ascertained that no fewer than 63
per cent, of the girls were infested with vermin. Impressed with
the serious extent of the evil, and with the need for securing an
elementary and decent degree of cleanliness in schools where
compulsory attendance is for a large number of children the only
alternative, I seized the opportunity afforded by the summer
vacation of circularising the parents with a view to securing their
co-operation in eradicating the evil.